Miami Hurricanes zero in on football targets from prep ranks and transfer portal

Beyond the nine high-school prospects who signed with Miami last week, the Hurricanes plan to add an additional six to 12 players this offseason, with several likely coming through the transfer portal and others from the prep ranks.

Among the players they’re still courting:

1) Defensive line: There’s no bigger priority than four-star Miami Monsignor Pace defensive end Shemar Stewart, rated the No. 3 player in the country by ESPN and No. 38 by Rivals. UM, Texas A&M and Georgia are his finalists, and he reportedly will make a decision on Feb. 2.

Texas A&M is considered the favorite, but Stewart has visited UM multiple times and met with Mario Cristobal. It’s critical to UM’s chances that he develops a good relationship with whatever coach is hired as defensive coordinator.

Miami has a decent chance to land four-star Ft. Lauderdale Gibbons defensive tackle Ahmad Moten, a 6-4, 290-pound prospect whose brother Anthony played at UM. Moten has visited Iowa State and plans to visit UM and Tennessee.

Four-star Las Vegas based defensive end Cyrus Moss originally planned to sign with a school last Friday (among UM, Alabama, Southern Cal, Oregon, Arizona State) and not disclose it until Jan. 8. But he reportedly decided not to sign with anyone until February.

“Miami was a really good time [the weekend of Dec. 11-12] and I thought it was super insightful,” Moss told 247Sports’ Blair Angulo. “I got to see more of what coach Cristobal is trying to build down there. He had a clear vision of what that program is going to look like and it definitely gave me a lot more to consider. They showed me all the benefits of the program and the university.”

And four-star San Diego based defensive end Gracen Halton, an Oregon commitment since January, will visit UM next month, per Canesport.

On the transfer portal front, defensive tackle Jayson Jones, a former Oregon starter, remains a Canes target.

He had 19 tackles and 1.5 sacks as a starter last season. At 6-6 and 320 pounds, he would provide needed girth to Miami’s defensive front and supplement the addition of former Southern Cal defensive end/tackle Jacob Lichtenstein, who committed to UM last week.

2) Defensive backs: Four of UM’s nine signees are defensive backs, but the Canes want to add at least one more.

They’re pursuing four-star San Diego-based cornerback Jahlil Florence and have kept in contact with three-star Ocala based cornerback Jammarien Burt, a former Gators commitment.

Florence was an Oregon commitment before Cristobal left for Miami.

UM also continues to explore the portal for a veteran cornerback. The Hurricanes tried to lure Alabama Crimson Tide cornerback Marcus Banks, but he committed to Mississippi State on Monday.

3) Wide receiver: The Canes already have one signed and are vigorously pursuing St. Louis-based four star receiver Kevin Coleman, rated by Rivals as the No. 9 receiver and No. 61 overall player in this class.

He’s choosing among UM, FSU and Southern California. An announcement is expected around Jan. 8.

UM also is in the mix for Clemson and former South Dade High receiver Frank Ladson, who’s in the transfer portal.

Ladson missed time with hip and ankle injuries last season and caught only four passes in limited playing time; he has 31 receptions (six for touchdowns) in three seasons at Clemson. He was rated by Rivals as the 56th best among all Class of 2019 prospects.

4) Offensive line: A top target is Seattle-based tackle Josh Conerly Jr., rated by Rivals as the 58th best player in this class and the seventh best tackle. He told Canesport that he plans to visit UM; Michigan is formidable competition.

Another top target: Four-star Washington-based guard Dave Iuli, an Oregon commitment who has a good relationship with Cristobal and offensive line Alex Mirabal, who will leave the Ducks’ staff after their bowl game to join Cristobal’s staff.

So Miami has a chance here. Rivals ranks Iuli as the No. 9 guard and the 186th best player in this 2022 class.

A few other names worth monitoring: three-star St. John’s, Florida-based tackle Matthew McCoy and three-star California-based tackle Jackson Brown, a player pursued by Manny Diaz before his dismissal.

UM, if it chooses, could pursue Oregon guard Jonathan Denis, a South Dade High alum who’s in the transfer portal. He was Rivals’ No. 6 guard in the 2020 class. Denis was getting some first-team reps in camp last August but then sustained an injury that kept him out awhile.

Other positions: UM might add a running back and veteran edge player in the portal.

NEWS NOTE

UM’s strength and conditioning coach, David Feeley, is heading to Duke, as CaneSport’s Gary Ferman reported.

Oregon’s Aaron Feld is expected to replace him at Miami.

And Oregon’s Bryan McClendon is replacing Rob Likens as the Canes’ receivers coach. Likens is UM’s offensive coordinator for the Dec. 31 Sun Bowl against Washington State.

The Canes are hoping the Sun Bowl is played -- and are planning to play -- but currently have double figures in COVID positive cases, among players, according to a source.